[March 2, CMSE News]According to CMSE spokesman, March 2, 2011, the preparations work for China’s first space rendezvous & docking flight mission went well, and TiangongⅠtarget spacecraft and Shenzhou VIII spaceship will be launched into space successively in the second half of this year.

TiangongⅠis not only a rendezvous & docking target spacecraft, but also a small space lab, with which Shenzhou VIII spaceship will rendezvous and dock after being launched into space. Now, after the completion of system performance test, system interface compatibility test and flight simulation test, TiangongⅠwill come into phase of mechanics properties and thermal performance test. Besides, electrical property test of Shenzhou VIII spaceship will be accomplished in the middle of March, and the development of space scientific experimental equipment onboard TiangongⅠand Shenzhou VIII also went smoothly.

LongMarch 2F is the launch vehicle for both TiangongⅠtarget spacecraft and Shenzhou VIII spaceship. The launch vehicle for TiangongⅠ has finished PhaseⅠtest, and the launch vehicle for Shenzhou VIII spaceship has began assembling. Preparations for launching site, landing site and TT&C and Communications System was also pushed forward comprehensively.

Space rendezvous & docking technology is the basic technology which must be mastered for the persistent development of manned space engineering. After the first space rendezvous & docking flight test of this year, Shenzhou IX and X spaceships will be launched next year to accomplish manned space rendezvous & docking, and to carry out space lab scientific experimental activities with involvement of man. Astronauts training for conducting space rendezvous & docking mission is underway, with 2 newly selected female astronauts participate in.